Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador answers questions from journalists at his daily 7 a.m. press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on April 9, 2019.Marco Ugarte / AP Photo

MEXICO CITY — Homicides in Mexico rose by 9.7% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period of 2018, reaching 8,493 killings in the first three months of the year, the most on record for the period, according to figures released Monday by the nation’s Security Department.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in December promising to reduce violence, but murders have grown during his four months in office.

Lopez Obrador wants to reduce violence through social programs and a new militarized police force known as the National Guard. He says effects should be felt in about six months.

Lopez Obrador said Monday that Mexico is “starting to stabilize, so that violence won’t continue to grow at the same rate.” But he noted “it’s going to take some time.”

The rate at which homicides are increasing did appear to slow somewhat in March. Homicides were up by 11% and 16% in January and February respectively, but rose only 2.7% in March.

In this Jan. 2, 2019 file photo, Mexican police climb up a set of stairs of a dilapidated building during a shootout with a group of armed criminals in Acapulco, Mexico.Bernardindo Hernandez /
AP Photo / File

Lopez Obrador spoke in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, where the murder of 13 people at a party Friday shocked the country.

The violence also has reached parts of the country that were traditionally more peaceful, like the north-central state of Guanajuato, which has been ravaged by killings by fuel theft gangs and the brutal Jalisco cartel

Homicides in Guanajuato rose by 28% in the first quarter, to reach 947.

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